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Drillers blow Blizzard lead to bits |
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Written by Joanne Ireland
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Friday, 26 February 1999 |
There was an ice bag on his throat, red welts on his knees, and a deafening roar still echoing in the ears of Carmen D'Onofrio. The poster boy for persistence.
To his right, in the Edmonton Drillers locker room, sat Domenic Mobilio. The man with the scoring touch.
Before a crowd of 7,432 at Skyreach Centre, D'Onofrio and Mobilio led the Drillers to a come-from-behind 17-16 victory over the Buffalo Blizzard.
"Those are the games you want to play in," said D'Onofrio. "Games are that are 14-2, 16-2 are good wins but to do it like this, it's like a playoff game.
"Buffalo came out kicking and scraping for a win."
With 5:05 left on the clock and Buffalo up 16-13, the Drillers called a time out. Coach Ross Ongaro told them time was not a factor, that there was no reason why they couldn't score on their divisional foes in this key matchup.
At 11:20, D'Onofrio punched in a rebound on a restart. Two minutes later, he tapped in the winner, a rebound off the wall. The building erupted. The bench cleared.
The Blizzard weren't ready to quit.
Goalkeeper Stuart Dobson was pulled in favour of a sixth attacker and hearts started to pump even faster as the Blizzard pressed upfield.
One shot richoeted off the post. Another sailed over the crossbar. The seconds slowly ticked down.
"It was a great win for us, a great character builder," said D'Onofrio. "Those are the things quality teams, championship teams do."
The Drillers, now 18-10, have posted four wins against the Blizzard (14-13). The two teams will meet again March 4 in Buffalo.
There is no love lost between the two squads. That was evident Thursday. Elbows were flying. Tempers flared. The Blizzard were nailed with 23 minutes in penalties, a new team high.
"That's what indoor soccer is all about," said Ongaro. "Buffalo showed all kinds of character but our guys responded."
The defenders made key blocks. Edmonton goalkeeper Pat Onstad punched away shots. Midfielder Paul Dailly didn't stop running up and down the field. And D'Onofrio connected when it counted most. He finished the games with six points.
Mobilio, who has rediscovered his scoring touch, scored three two-point goals and converted a shootout.
"I'm playing with a lot of confidence," he said. "I've been feeling strong physically out there, the stamina's great and at the beginning of the year, I had a lot of chances but I was hitting posts, I was hitting the goalie. Now I'm just hitting the right spots."
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DRILL BITS
SNOW JOB: The Drillers, now 18-10, posted their fourth win of the season over the Buffalo Blizzard, scoring a 17-16 victory. The Blizzard head home with a 14-13 record.
POINT MEN: Buffalo's Doug Miller scored for the cycle, netting an assist, a one-point shootout goal, a two-pointer and a three-pointer.The Drllers countered with Carmen D'Onofrio who finished the night with six points and Domenic Mobilio who netted three two-point goals and converted a shootout.
NEXT UP: The Drillers and Blizzard wrap up their three-game series March 4 in Buffalo.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 October 2006 )
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